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John McCain’s Condescending Flirtation With Hillary Voters |
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John McCain seems to think that he can win over Hillary Clinton voters, especially women who voted for Hillary, by flirting with them. The latest evidence–his campaign blog informs “disaffected Hillary supporters” that “John McCain is a huge ABBA fan“. The blog includes a video clip of the ABBA song “Take a Chance on Me”, which warbles “If you change your mind, I’m the first in line, Honey, I’m still free. Take a chance on Me.”
Does McCain really think wooing Clinton voters is as simple as making a cutesy musical come-on? Maybe. He doesn’t seem to have offered a single substantive reason why he thinks Clinton voters should choose him over Obama. (On Hardball tonight, George Will told an adoring Chris Matthews that McCain’s image as a warrior who suffered may appeal to Clinton voters who are suffering. Election through empathy–that’s where Republicans in 2008 are hanging their hopes?)Â
The real McCain, of course, is anathema to Clinton voters. He is anti-choice, perhaps even anti-contraception. He wants to appoint Supreme Court justices in the mold of Scalia, Roberts, and Alito–(he even voted for the failed nomination of Robert Bork). He wants to continue the disastrous Iraq war indefinitely and one of his strongest supporters has correctly said that McCain’s tax and health care policies are also essentially a continuation of Bush’s failed policies.Â
I guess you have to call it daring, if nothing else, for a man who left his wife for a younger woman to court Clinton voters via flirtation rather than substance. McCain is counting on voters not looking too closely at his record. If they do, he loses. It says a lot that what looks like a joke may be the most serious overture he ever makes to women voters.
I, actualy, am not suprised that Mc Cain does not take Hillary’s fans seriously. Especially since the majority of the fans are voting on personal issues like: they want her to be the first female president or because of the color of Obama’s skin. If anything he probably doesn’t take any woman seriously because of women with simple views like these.
I think McCain is miscalculating–as long as women, and all voters, know his extreme views on issues ranging from contraception to the war in Iraq, he will lose